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#Post#: 321--------------------------------------------------
MARY SUES
DIR By: 22639
Date: March 3, 2012, 6:03 pm
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I found this article on the Internet and thought it was worth
sharing.
[center] Mary Sues[/center]
Mary Sue (.n)- (Classic definition) Someone who defines her self
as the most beautiful, most powerful, most intelligent, most
loved in every way, and is more or less perfect yet somehow
manages to be perfectly modest so everyone loves her and she
would do no wrong. This type of character is the type that does
nothing more than attribute to her own qualities and make posts
centered around them and herself.
WHY WE DON'T ALLOW MARY SUES:
- Mary Sues slow down the plot.
- Mary Sues scare off other potential players.
- Mary Sues tend to post aimlessly.
- Mary Sues glorify themselves.
- Mary Sues are extremely annoying,
- Mary Sue posts generally have no point.
- Mary Sues tend to want all the attention.
- Mary Sues seem to have no weaknesses.
- Mary Sues are generally perfect and therefore boring.
- Mary Sues make RPGs slowly and painfully die!
TYPES OF MARY SUES:
Aside from the "classic" form of Mary Sue, several other
varieties exist. All are equally repugnant. Below are
descriptions of Mary in her various incarnations. Keep in mind
that while characters with flaws and interesting, well-developed
histories and personalities will undoubtedly resemble these
descriptions to a limited extent, what makes a Mary a Mary is
her absolute specialness and uniqueness in regard to whatever
trait is being described... in other words her "most-ness."
1. Classic Mary Sue
This is the first characterization brought to mind when we think
of Mary Sue. This character is often the most
beautiful/handsome, funniest, friendliest, smartest, most
athletic, wealthiest, most psychically/magically gifted, most
beloved, strongest, most heroic, most virtuous, sexiest, and
best dressed character in the entire game. Classic Mary Sue has
no faults, and she makes no mistakes. She can do anything (even
if she's never attempted it before) and end up doing it better
than anyone else. She has a host of abilities that are very
unlikely for someone with her experience or place in life. She
often comes into very superior abilities in the middle of the
game, with no preamble and often even surprised by them herself.
She is extremely insightful and often has trouble distinguishing
between character and player knowledge.
2. Tragic Mary Sue
This Mary Sue is subtler, and is the pitfall of some writers
who, in a genuine attempt to avoid the Classic Mary Sue, have
heaped way too many tragedies onto their characters (she is
referred to in some circles as the "Anti-Sue"). The Tragic Mary
Sue is viewed as a pity-beggar, an attention-getter. She usually
comes from a very terrible and lamentable existence--usually as
a slave, an abused servant, a prostitute, or some other
lifestyle most of us couldn't imagine being in. At every turn of
her life, she has met with one ill fortune after another--from
torture, rape, poverty, becoming an orphan, having the only
person who ever loved her murdered... you get the idea.
Sometimes this Mary is hideously ugly or strangely deformed.
Other times, if the author just can't seem to actually let go of
the compulsion to be classic, Tragic Mary Sue will still be,
underneath all her dirt and heartbreak, very beautiful, if only
the right person would reach out to her. This Mary Sue begs for
pity. She is designed to tug on the heartstrings of the other
characters so that they will approach her, work really hard to
pull her out of her jaded, reclusive existence, and elevate her
to a higher status. She fulfills the need of her creators to
have other people "save" them and make them feel loved.
3. Belligerent Mary Sue
Just like all great warrior princesses, the Belligerent Mary Sue
is tougher that anyone else, she has unmatched (and often
unexplained) fighting skills, and she has an extreme "won't take
crap from anyone," attitude. She can immediately defeat any
adversary single handed. She's often well muscled and athletic,
but even if she is petite, she can still inexplicably beat the
crap out of any other character; she never loses any in-game
encounter she is a part of. She has a tough exterior, she
flaunts authority, she doesn't make friends easily, and she
doesn't care about anyone, knowing that she can only depend on
herself. Other characters must really, really work hard to
befriend her. This Mary Sue is the epitome of overly done
independence. She is our need to lash out against social
convention and the ties that bind us.
4. "Floozy" Mary Sue
Like her Classic cousin, this Mary Sue has a wide range of
superior skills, but they are specific to the ability to attract
the opposite sex. Her physical description exudes sensuality,
and she is never without her ample bosom, full and pouting lips,
entrancing catlike eyes and long lashes, red mane of tousled
curls, or voluptuous figure and hip-swaying walk. This Mary Sue
can seduce any man, she gets anything she wants just by
flirting, and all other woman generally hate her. Her morals are
very loose, and she may skirt the border of being considered an
"evil" character. This Mary Sue attempts to attract the
attention of every male character in the game, and her player is
often very disappointed if she doesn't.
5. Copy Cat Mary Sue
Copy Cat Mary is most easily spotted in fandom games, especially
by those who know the fandom very well. She is basically the
description, history, personality, and destiny of one of the
well-known cannon characters, only with a different name and
some minor adjustments. She's also usually related to an already
famous character in a way that would be impossible, based on the
canon material. In Harry Potter games, she might be Harry's long
lost twin sister who also bears a scar on her forehead from the
night Voldemort killed their parents. In Star Wars, she's Luke
and Leia's younger sibling who was hidden away from the Emperor
and trained on a remote planet by one of the last Jedi Masters,
destined to lead the Rebellion after Darth Vader killed his
mentor. Duplicating a Cannon Character or closely relating your
character to one is often viewed, at best, as unimaginative, and
at worst, as an attempt to make your character more important
than she would be if relying on her own merit.
6. Transplant Mary Sue
Transplant Mary is similar to Copy Cat Mary in that she is some
modification of a well-known canon character from a particular
fandom. The difference is that the character is passed off as an
original character in either an original game she has no
business being in or in a non-crossover, canon game of a
completely different fandom. For example, some players attempt
to use "Buffy Summers" from the BTVS fandom in anything from
Star Trek to Twilight games. While some legitimately original
characters might be inspired by a favorite canon character,
Transplants have several characteristics that are very obviously
taken straight from the canon character. Most commonly, these
characteristics include: Name, Physical Description,
Personality, Background (often modified to fit the game),
Occupation, Family Members, and Celebrity "Play By" Image. One
or two similarities, alone, does not mark a character as a
Transplant Sue, but in combination, several of these "borrowed"
traits can be very obvious to someone familiar with the canon
character. A sub-species of the Transplant Mary is the
Transplant Celebrity Mary Sue, for whom many traits are clearly
based on those of a popular celebrity or are a Hodge-podge of
television and movie characters the celebrity has portrayed.
7. Inside Mary Sue
Some Mary Sues are "inside jobs," meaning a player (usually the
game's owner) creates a new Race or Species for use as PCs and
gives a detailed description, including all of the things the
race can do and all of the things they definitely cannot. Then,
the creator turns around and immediately introduces a new
character of that race who happens to be the exception to the
rules. The logical progression is that the creator is not
satisfied by any of the currently existing races and, therefore,
needs the added specialness of his/her character being an
entirely new species. Because they created the species, they're
now presented with the danger that a new player will create a
new character of the same species, thus, reducing the original
character's specialness. The solution is for the creator to
"build in" a rule for the species that, as it happens, doesn't
apply to their character for some strange and rare reason (and
which would be unlikely to have occurred to other subsequent
characters created from the same species). This preserves the
character's "uniqueness" no matter how many new characters are
created of the same species. The character is now special
because it is of a previously non-existent species (and the only
member of that species upon entrance into the game) and because
it is, remarkably, also an exception to its own species'
characteristics. This two-fold specialness actually makes it a
Double-Layered Mary Sue--it's a Mary Sue with a fail-safe,
backup system.
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